1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an energy absorber, and more particularly to an energy absorber to absorb earthquake shock energy and having a capability of preventing operation temperature of the energy absorber from increasing.
2. Description of Related Art
Energy absorbers are commonly mounted on large objects, such as buildings, bridges or machines to provide shock-absorbing and shock-suppressing effects to the objects and to absorb the energy and shocks generated during earthquakes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,756 discloses a conventional energy absorber comprises a core, two connector plates and multiple rubber and steel layers. The connector plates are mounted respectively on two ends of the core and are securely connected to the ground and a large object respectively. The rubber layers and the steel layers are alternately mounted between the connector plates. When an earthquake occurs, a shock-absorbing effect can be provided by the deformations of the rubber and steel layers.
However, the core of the energy absorber of the '756 Patent is made of lead. The lead core may be deformed during the earthquake, and the deformation of the lead core will generate heat. Therefore, the temperature of the core of the '756 Patent will rise to about 300° C. which approaches the melting point of lead, about 327° C., and the high temperature easily causes the melting of the core. Furthermore, the rubber layers and the structure of the conventional energy absorber are easily damaged in the overheating event. In addition, the high temperature also easily decreases the structural strength of the energy absorber, such that the shock-absorbing effect of the conventional energy absorber is also reduced.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an energy absorber to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.